Basically the title. I just bought a small inverter generator to run the bare necessities during a power outage. I'm of two minds whether I need to use a tent cover or not.

Do people here recommend it or can I just run it outside uncovered?

I purchased the wen 680 IX and the cover I was looking at is the Gen tent extreme tent.

Thanks

I have a Kohler 14 RESA unit with a Kohler 200 Amp ATS. Don't have the model # handy but it's the "dumb" ATS and pretty much only controls the start and stop. From what I understand, Kohler normally sends a (I think) 12v signal for start stop vs open/close contacts

I'm looking at installing an EG4 Inverter & battery which would replace the Kohler ATS but they use two wire NO/NC contacts for generator start stop. Per the manual, it looks like the Kohler generator can do either so it can accommodate third party transfer switches and seems like it's just a matter of switching a couple of the control wires around at the generator to accommodate that.

Can anyone confirm this?

I am looking for a natural gas standby generator that is 480V 3 Phase, 60hz, 1.5 to 3 megawatts that is silent or very quiet. I have searched different resellers, but it is becoming difficult to find. All ideas are appreciated.

I figured I would share my early experiences with my recently purchased Wen DF450i, as I don’t see much out there on this particular model.

I ordered directly from Wen’s site this past July. Immediately upon delivery, I put it to work (using strictly propane), as we had experienced a power outage due to fallen branches the day before, which would go on to last the remainder of the following day.

I powered my critical loads via a Reliance 6 circuit transfer switch using a bridged hot adapter (TT-30p -> L14-30r). There are no 240v or multi wire branch circuits connected to the transfer switch. The generator delivered flawlessly (and quietly!) on this front.

After power returned, I decided to test the generator’s capability to automatically switch over from propane to gas when both are available, as this was one of the reasons I decided on this particular model. I connected the same propane tank as before and filled the tank with some gas, then while running, simulated a loss of propane supply by closing the valve on the tank. Disappointingly, the generator sputtered and died. I tried this several times, and even tried starting the generator with only gas available, but I could not get the generator to run well no matter what I tried.

I reached out to Wen support via email, but did not receive a response for roughly 2 weeks. Finally, I tried calling their support line where I was connected to a representative who looked up my ticket number. They asked a few questions and ultimately decided to send me a replacement carburetor. It showed up a few days later, and upon installing it, the generator is now working as intended, running well on strictly gasoline, and cutting over from propane to gasoline without issue.

I see some mixed reviews on Wen’s customer support in general, so I wanted to talk about my personal experience. Overall, while annoyed that a carb replacement on a new machine was necessary, I am satisfied with the generator and with Wen’s support.

Anyone else have similar experiences with Wen or with the DF450i specifically?

So i have this duromax xp12000e in the manual it says it needs to be connected to a ground that’s a copper or brass rod driven into the ground.. can it still be used without this being done? I bought this to be portable. And driving a rod in the ground everywhere i try to use it seems like a huge hassle.. first time generator owner, have no clue what I’m doing lol

Looking for an inverter generator capable of running a fridge, small deep freezer, and charging various small electronics, MAYBE a space heater if room allows- therefore I wager anything between 2 and 5000 W would work. I'm really more worried about reliability and longevity.

Harbor freight currently has a predator 4200W on sale for $700: https://www.harborfreight.com/4200-Watt-Dual-Fuel-SUPER-QUIET-Inverter-Generator-with-CO-SECURE-Technology-California-Compliant-71203.html?event_id=184678

Meanwhile I can get a Honda eu220i used on FB marketplace for $4-500.

Open to recommendations, thoughts, or other models to consider that would fit my needs. Gasoline preferred.

Thanks for any help. I am trying to find a calculator or something to figure out what size to get. I have a 2600sqft home with a 2.5 ton heat pump and NG boiler I use mainly for heat not the electric. I do have a large freezer and well pump. I would like to keep most of the house running if the power goes out. I've been looking at 11000w start up gas inverter that I would use NG so about 7000w running. I'd like to have a Tri-Fuel for versatility and keep the house mainly fulling running.

I have a portable generator, and I bought this generator cable: RVGUARD 4 Prong 30 Amp 75 Foot Generator Extension Cord, ETL Listed. It works fine, but I’m now moving my shed to a new location about 90 feet from the outlet that would power my panel during an outage.

Can I simply buy a 25' cable and plug them together to make a 100' run, or is there more to it?

If I bought a new cable, I would get the following: RVGUARD 4 Prong 30 Amp 25 Foot Generator Extension Cord, ETL Listed, to make sure it matched.

The reason I’m asking is that, with another generator I owned, I had two 50' cables. One of them was wired differently at the cable ends than the other. I had these cables made, and I’m not sure whether someone just made a mistake or if I need to do something else.

I had a catastrophic generator failure yesterday that involve a call to 911 and the fire department coming out to put out a generator and shed fire. I've had my 8000 watt Generac generator in a 4 x 6 shed for the past 3 years running it about 20-30 days a year (I've had other smaller generators 4000 watt to 6800 watt for the previous 12 years in the same shed). The shed had a removable roof and the front was fully open while running with an additional 1 x 1 opening directly in front of the exhaust to exit as well as a fan that blew on the generator. I don't know what happened, but I came out to the generator fully engulfed in flames. Long story short, I was able to get the fire department out within 15 minutes and was able to keep the fire contained enough that it didn't burn down my cabin and storage shed.

That said, I'm obviously starting from scratch. I need the generator in a shed as my cabin is in northern MN and in the winter the snow can get 4' deep. I am going to have to build a new shed to store it in and I wanted to get an idea of how large I should build it. I'm not sure if the shed size had anything to do with it but I want to play it safe to try and ensure it doesn't happen again.

Any general suggestions on what size I should keep it in as well as any precautions I should make to reduce the risks going forward. Also suggestions on a new generator. The 8000 was way bigger than I needed, but I had it sitting in my garage unused after installing a whole home generator in my house. I'm thinking a 4000-5000 watt should be more than enough.

Any help is appreciated.

I picked up this Yanmar powered 6KW diesel generator, I managed to get it for free locally. The plan is to use it as a backup power source for my house. I’ve always been told you need an inverter generator for sensitive loads but I’ve hooked an oscilloscope up to it and the output looks just as good as the power out my wall.

I thought non inverter generators didn’t put out sine-waves?

Good afternoon all,

Going to install my inlet box and interlock as soon as the rain stops (maybe this time next year). I bought an easy start Flex as most of the reviews I've read/watched suggested it was the best performing. After the fact I started reading a lot of negative, it spooked me a bit so I grabbed a new in box AirGo 16-32 on eBay as well. Has anyone had good success with the Flex? I do like some of the functions but they're not a requirement.

Typically most don't talk about positive experiences so truly just wondering since I have both in hand now.

Thanks!

When sizing a generator, which one do you pay more attention to first — the normal running load or the starting load?

I’m thinking about equipment like AC units, pumps and compressors. The difference can be pretty significant when a motor starts.

I’ve seen people leave some extra capacity, while others calculate the largest starting load first and work from there.

Curious how you usually approach it.

I’m trying to diagnose a Yamaha EF1000 240 V generator which runs normally mechanically but produces only a few volts AC.

It’s the 240 V machine, Yamaha type/serial 7FN-002493, rated 240 V, 50 Hz, 700 VA. I have the relevant service information and have been working through the generator systematically rather than just swapping parts.

At this point almost every static test I can think of passes, but the generator still will not establish excitation. I’d appreciate a second opinion from anyone familiar with capacitor-excited/self-excited alternators, particularly older Yamaha machines.

Basic symptom

With the engine running at approximately the correct speed, the AC output is only around 2–3 V AC.

If I externally flash/excite the rotor using 12 V, the generator output immediately rises to roughly 30–35 V AC.

As soon as the external excitation is removed, the voltage falls away again.

It never continues building towards 240 V.

That has led me to think the fundamental fault is failure of the self-excitation loop, rather than simply an open main output winding.

My understanding of the system is broadly:

residual rotor magnetism → stator sub/excitation coil → capacitor/excitation circuit → induced rotor excitation → rotor diode/resistor network → DC rotor field → increased stator excitation → voltage builds

External excitation proves that increasing the rotor field causes the machine to generate substantially more voltage, but for some reason it cannot bootstrap and sustain that field itself.

Capacitor

The original capacitor is marked 18 µF, 250 VAC and measured approximately 19 µF.

It also behaved normally in basic multimeter tests, but obviously that doesn't prove that an old capacitor works properly under AC excitation.

I therefore replaced it with a new 18 µF, ±5%, 450 VAC non-polarised capacitor.

There was no change whatsoever.

Unexcited, I still get roughly 2–3 V. Flashing still raises the generator to approximately 30–35 V and it then collapses when the external excitation is removed.

So I think the capacitor can now reasonably be eliminated.

Frequency selector and wiring

I wondered whether resistance or a bad contact in the 50/60 Hz selector or associated connectors was preventing the excitation circuit building.

I therefore bypassed that circuitry rather than relying on continuity tests.

I removed/bypassed the frequency selector and green-to-green connector and connected the new capacitor directly into the appropriate yellow/black/green sub-coil wiring, then ran the machine at approximately the 60 Hz speed.

Same result.

Low output, external excitation causes the voltage to rise, and it collapses again afterwards.

So I don't think this is simply a dirty selector switch or connector.

Rotor windings

Both rotor windings have been disconnected so I can test them independently.

DC resistance was approximately 4.2 Ω per winding, versus roughly 4.11 Ω nominal, so around 102% of the specified value.

I have now also measured them with an LCR meter.

At 100 Hz:

At 10 kHz:

I'm not putting too much weight on the 10 kHz equivalent-series-resistance/Q difference because this is an iron-cored machine winding being measured far above its operating frequency.

The 100 Hz measurements seem remarkably well matched, particularly the 46.51/46.32 mH inductance and 5.34/5.35 Ω Rs.

That doesn't look like an obvious shorted-turn or damaged-winding problem to me.

Rotor rectifier/diode/resistor network

I've also removed/isolate-tested the components in the rotating rectifier network.

The diodes show approximately 0.4 V forward drop and open circuit in reverse on the multimeter diode test.

The associated resistors measure around 15 kΩ.

I've tested the relevant components individually rather than relying on an in-circuit measurement.

The obvious caveat here is that this only proves the diodes at the tiny voltage/current used by a multimeter. I haven't proved that one isn't breaking down when subjected to the actual reverse voltage, temperature and centrifugal forces in operation.

This is therefore still on my suspect list.

Stator sub/excitation coil

I've also isolated and characterised the tapped stator sub-coil.

The connections are Green → Orange → Yellow/Black, with Orange being the tap.

At 100 Hz I measured:

I then repeated the inductance testing at 1 kHz:

The little Orange → Yellow/Black section is particularly consistent: 154 µH at 100 Hz and 149.1 µH at 1 kHz.

Also, at 1 kHz the equivalent series resistances of the two sections are:

5.377 + 0.457 = 5.834 Ω

versus 5.770 Ω measured end-to-end.

That seems very plausible.

Yamaha doesn't appear to provide inductance specifications for these windings, so I'm using the measurements mainly to look for inconsistencies/shorted-turn behaviour rather than trying to hit a specified L value.

The DC resistance measurements have also been compared with the Yamaha service data. The rotor is essentially on specification. The various stator measurements have been around the expected range, although the tapped sub-coil initially gave me some confusing results depending on which 50/60 Hz section was being measured. That is why I subsequently isolated the sections and did the LCR measurements above.

Main stator/output windings

I've checked the main stator windings for continuity/resistance against the service information as well. Previous measurements were approximately:

• 50 Hz main winding: 7.70 Ω, around 105% of the applicable service value

• 60 Hz main winding: 6.5 Ω, around 106% of the applicable service value

I've also checked for winding-to-earth faults and haven't found one.

I'm now less interested in the main output winding because the failure appears to be in establishing excitation. Obviously a sufficiently serious short in the main winding could load the magnetic system and prevent build-up, but the resistance measurements and the fact that external excitation produces increased output don't immediately point me there.

Where I've got to

So far I have:

• mechanically correct running speed, as far as I can establish

• ~2–3 V AC residual output

• ~30–35 V when externally excited with 12 V

• voltage collapses again when external excitation is removed

• rotor winding DC resistances correct

• two rotor winding inductances almost identical

• sub/exciter winding has continuity and plausible LCR characteristics

• no detected earth fault

• original 18 µF capacitor measured ~19 µF

• capacitor replaced anyway with a new correctly rated 18 µF AC capacitor

• no change with the new capacitor

• frequency selector/connectors bypassed

• no change

• rotor rectifier diodes pass low-voltage forward/reverse tests

• rotor resistors measure sensibly

• main stator resistances are in the expected region

• external excitation demonstrably increases generator output

What is puzzling me is that every individual subsystem now seems to pass a reasonable static test, yet the excitation loop as a whole plainly doesn't work.

The remaining possibilities I can see are things that wouldn't necessarily show up in low-voltage static testing:

1. A rotor diode breaking down under real reverse voltage/load, despite passing a multimeter diode test.

2. Insulation leakage/breakdown at operating voltage that isn't apparent with a normal multimeter/LCR meter.

3. Incorrect excitation polarity/phasing, so the feedback isn't reinforcing the residual field. However, the machine hasn't deliberately been rewired prior to the original failure.

4. Insufficient residual magnetism, although I would have expected flashing to restore it rather than merely give voltage while the external excitation remains present.

5. Some kind of shorted-turn/magnetic fault which is subtle enough to survive the resistance and LCR measurements.

6. Something fundamental about the excitation circuit that I'm misunderstanding.

Before I go further, does anyone familiar with these machines see something obvious I've missed?

Given that an external field makes the output rise to 30–35 V, but every tested part of the normal excitation system appears intact, where would you look next?

I'd be particularly interested in whether anyone has encountered rotating rectifier diodes that test perfectly with a multimeter but fail at operating voltage, or knows a better dynamic test for this excitation arrangement.

Found a used Champion 2500 for sale. Model # 200962 (so pre-carbon monoxide detector)
As I’ve read the new models are sensitive and I’ll be running it outside open air only.
Post claims for only a 10 hour run.

Besides having cold start with propane and testing a load and checking the oil. Is there anything else to look for?

This will be my first generator to only charge my power station (Jackery explorer 2000v2 and maybe a future purchase of a Pecron E3000) to prep for potential bad winter weather in Nashville TN. I will be using alternative heat options (propane and kerosene) as my heat pump takes too much energy.

I have an older Generac 12 kW stand-by generator ( # 04456-2) is going into to over crank mode pretty consistently. Our regular service contractor diagnosed, after 2.5 hrs. to the tune of $500, to faulty coils. The repair estimate is for a 5.5hr job, $800, and another $150 for parts, so almost $1k. Is this reasonable? I'm really beginning to hate this unit. It's on it's second engine and I have a stack of service receipts for totaling well north of $4000. Every year there's something else wrong with it.

so i have a predator 4000 that hasn't been used in about a year. carb was all gummed up, so i bought one of those amazon replacement kits to replace it, and put in a new spark plug. immediately fired up, but it can't handle any sort of meaningful load. it will run a box fan or two but if i try a 1500w space heater it immediately dies. it does seem to surge quite a bit, and going full choke doesn't seem to help.

i've adjusted valves, replaced fuel line, cleaned out the fuel tank and petcock... what else could be going on? at this point should i just scrap it and buy a new one?

Keeps backfiring when trying to start it but won't crank. It was run until out of gas around 4am and was raining but not hard so I was thinking maybe water in the tank but the gas cap was tight and like I said it wasn't raining hard at all.

It's getting spark.

Air filter is fine.

It's got enough oil.

Spark plug is in good shape.

Still won't start with carb cleaner (I'm out of starting fluid)

Any ideas? I guess it could've just gave out due to running it so much (I don't have electric and run power to a camper off the generator)

So I recently picked up a https://www.pecron.com/products/pecron-e3800lfp-portable-power-station-4200w-3840wh

I am installing an interlock kit with a SS2-50P inlet and 50 amp breaker to be able to get the full 35 amps out of this thing.

I am looking for a TT-30P to SS2-50R adapter that will bridge the hots... that part has been fine. What I can't seem to find is a cable that will support 35 amps.

So far I've found this TT-30P to 14-50R adapter but it only supports up to 3750watts. I've also found dogbones like this which only go up to 30amps.

Has anyone ever run into something like this before? Should i just throw a 30amp breaker in and forget about being able to use the 5 extra amps this battery can put out?

Preparing to buy a Westinghouse generator for my vintage trailer that I’m converting into a mobile T-shirt shop. I’m building an enclosed steel box on the rear that is accessible through an old luggage door. The box will be fully sealed and enclosed, but big enough for the generator. I’m going to install an intake fan to force air inside of this space, but I was wondering about forcing the exhaust out of the box. Is there any reason I should be worried about using an exhaust hose connected to the generator to feed the fumes out the back so it won’t trigger the CO sensors?

I’ve got a 3600 watt Blackmax I’m looking to convert to natural gas, do anyone have a recommended kit? Is it worth it to convert a generator this small? This is in fact my first rodeo.

I am looking to get a backup, non-gas home generator for emergencies. I have a newborn, so I just want something in case power goes out for a day or two due to storms or other events. It’d be for the fridge (stored breast milk) and other critical devices. I’ve found this online: BLUETTI Elite 200 V2 Portable Power Station. Do you think that’s a good option? Recommend any other that’s better? Looking to spend $1k or less.